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The Auditorium

Argyle Street (at O'Connor Street)

Written by Bytown Museum on 03/Dec/2009

A photograph of Elvis Presley performing at the Auditorium, 1957

Ottawa is hockey country and it's been that way since the city's early days. In 1923, Ottawa Senators President Edgar Dey opened the 10,000-person-capacity Ottawa Auditorium. While the Auditorium's facilities were considered state-of-the-art, the shape of the ice was described as somewhat egg-like. The arena was home to the Ottawa Senators until 1934, when the team folded.

Radio station CFRA's first broadcast aired from the Auditorium in May of 1947. More memorable to screaming teenagers might be Elvis Presley's two concerts in 1957; it was the King's first tour outside of the United States. In 1964, the Rolling Stones made their first appearance in Ottawa at the Auditorium. We would have to wait almost 40 years for them to return to the city.

In 1967, the Auditorium was torn down and replaced by the YMCA-YWCA.

Do you have a memory of a game or show at the Auditorium? Share it with us!


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I recall seeing Elvis at one of his shows - I was seated to the left of the stage as he looked out - he came out to thunderous scrteams - got the crowd calmed down a bit, walked over to the piano and plunked out the opening bars of Blueberry Hill. After that it was bedlam.

I also saw Duke Ellington there (with Sarah Vaughan), fats Domino and other acts, but for me the most memorable was Jerry Lee Lewis. His arrival there came after the story broke in the U.K. about his marriage to Myra, his 13 y/o cousin (not uncommon in those days in the Deep South), and so the crowd was not large - maybe 4,000 in a building that held around 9,000 for such events. This time I was to the right of the stage and I remember him peeking out from behind the curtain to see the size of the crowd while a preliminary act was on, and when he came out he gave one of the most outstanding performances of any I'd ever seen. You'd have thought there were 20,000 in there. Amazing.
&l

George O'Leary, Tuesday, August 23, 2011

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